Cases - Gibson Lea Retail Interiors Ltd v Makro Self-Service Wholesalers Ltd
Record details
- Name
- Gibson Lea Retail Interiors Ltd v Makro Self-Service Wholesalers Ltd
- Date
- [2001]
- Citation
- BLR 407
- Legislation
- Keywords
- Construction contracts - adjudication - whether a contract for the supply and installation of moveable fittings was a construction operation - definition of construction operation - Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, section 105(1)
- Summary
-
The claimants supplied and installed shop fittings to the defendants' cash-and-carry wholesale business. All of the fittings were designed to be moveable and many were free-standing.
Disputes arose as to payment, which the claimants sought to refer to adjudication. The defendants challenged their rights to do so on the basis that the contract was not for construction operations within the scope of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. The claimants therefore sought a declaration that they were entitled to refer the dispute to adjudication.
When considering whether a contract for the supply and installation of such fittings was within the scope of the Act, the court drew upon established law as to what amounts to 'fixtures and fittings' for assistance. The judge found that in the context of the law of real property, the concept of a fixture is well-established, and applied that concept to the definition of 'construction operations' in section 105(1) of the Act. In the law of real property, one of the factors that is relevant to a determination of whether a chattel attached to a building is a fixture or not is whether the attachment is intended to be permanent.
Applying this test to the facts of the case, the judge concluded that the supply and installation of moveable and free-standing shop fittings were not 'construction operations' within the scope of the Act and therefore declined to give the declaration sought by the claimants.